Simple Prepositions in Welsh

In Brief

Welsh prepositions express relationships such as to, from, in, on, with and under, but the word after them may change its first consonant. Learn the preposition together with its mutation: i Gaerdydd “to Cardiff”, o Gymru “from Wales” and yng Nghymru “in Wales”. When an article comes next, learn the whole phrase as a unit: ar y bwrdd “on the table” and yn yr ysgol “in/at school”.

Overview

A preposition is a short word that links a person, place or thing to the rest of a sentence. English words such as “to”, “from”, “in”, “on” and “with” are prepositions. Their Welsh equivalents are among the most useful words at A1: they let you say where you are, where you are going, where something came from and who is with you.

The main beginner challenge is initial consonant mutation—a regular change at the beginning of the next word. For example, the place name Caerdydd begins with c, but after i it becomes i Gaerdydd. English does not alter a place name after “to”, so it is tempting to treat mutation as optional decoration. In Welsh it is part of the grammar and often part of natural pronunciation.

The meanings do not match English word for word in every expression. English says “at school”, but Welsh normally has yn yr ysgol, literally closer to “in the school”. English “listen to” is gwrando ar, using the preposition normally translated as “on”. It is therefore best to learn common preposition phrases, not isolated dictionary equivalents.

How It Works

The core set

The following table gives the beginner meaning of each preposition. “Noun” here means a word naming a person, place, thing or idea, such as bwrdd “table” or Cymru “Wales”.

Welsh form	Main English meanings	What normally follows
i	to, for	Soft mutation: i Gaerdydd “to Cardiff”
o	from, of	Soft mutation: o Gymru “from Wales”
yn	in, at	A special nasal mutation when followed directly by many nouns and place names: yng Nghymru
ar	on, at; about in some expressions	Soft mutation: ar fwrdd “on a table”
am	about, for, at (a time)	Soft mutation: am dri “at three”
gyda	with	No automatic mutation pattern needs to be applied at this beginner stage: gyda ffrindiau
â	with, by means of	Aspirate mutation of p, t, c: â chyllell “with a knife”
dan	under	Soft mutation: dan bont “under a bridge”
dros	over, across; for/on behalf of	Soft mutation: dros bont “over a bridge”

A soft mutation changes certain initial consonants. The complete system belongs to the prerequisite topic, but these are the changes most useful with prepositions:

Basic consonant	After soft mutation	Example
p	b	pont → dan bont “bridge → under a bridge”
t	d	tri → am dri “three → at three”
c	g	Caerdydd → i Gaerdydd “Cardiff → to Cardiff”
b	f	Bangor → o Fangor “Bangor → from Bangor”
d	dd	dŵr → o ddŵr “water → from water”
g	disappears	gardd → o ardd “garden → from a garden”
m	f	mam → am fam “mother → about a mother”
ll	l	Llanelli → i Lanelli “Llanelli → to Llanelli”
rh	r	rhiant → am riant “parent → about a parent”

The spelling ff represents a sound like English f, while Welsh f represents a sound like English v. Thus Bangor → Fangor is both a spelling and a sound change.

Direction, source and position

Use i for movement towards a destination and o for movement away from a source:

• mynd i Gaerdydd — to go to Cardiff
• dod o Gymru — to come from Wales
• cerdded i'r parc — to walk to the park
• dod o'r swyddfa — to come from the office

Use a location preposition when something stays in a place:

• yn yr ysgol — in/at school
• ar y bwrdd — on the table
• dan y bwrdd — under the table

This direction-versus-position contrast matters. Mae hi'n mynd i Gaerdydd means “She is going to Cardiff”, whereas Mae hi yng Nghaerdydd means “She is in Cardiff”.

What happens with the article

Welsh has the definite article y, yr, 'r, corresponding to English “the”. Its shape depends on the surrounding sounds. After a preposition, common combinations include:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
i + 'r	i'r parc	to the park
o + 'r	o'r swyddfa	from the office
yn + y	yn y tŷ	in the house
yn + yr	yn yr ysgol	in/at the school
ar + y	ar y bwrdd	on the table
dan + y	dan y gwely	under the bed

When y/yr/'r stands between the preposition and the noun, do not mechanically apply the preposition's mutation to the noun. The article has rules of its own, especially with feminine singular nouns, but that is a separate source of mutation. At first, memorise high-frequency groups such as i'r gwaith, yn yr ysgol and ar y bwrdd.

The special pattern after yn “in”

Unlike i, o, ar, am, dan and dros, locational yn is associated with nasal mutation. This is another kind of first-consonant change. It is especially visible before place names:

Basic form	With yn	Meaning
Cymru	yng Nghymru	in Wales
Caerdydd	yng Nghaerdydd	in Cardiff
Bangor	ym Mangor	in Bangor
Tyddewi	yn Nhyddewi	in St Davids

The preposition itself changes to yng before the mutated sounds written ng/ngh, and to ym before the sounds written m/mh. Before other words it remains yn. With the article, use the much simpler patterns yn y and yn yr: yn y gegin “in the kitchen”, yn yr ardd “in the garden”.

Welsh also has another very common yn in sentences such as Dw i'n dysgu “I am learning” and Mae hi'n athrawes “She is a teacher”. That linking yn is not the locational preposition “in”, so do not apply the place-name rule to every occurrence of yn or 'n.

Two ways to say “with”

For everyday company, gyda is a useful choice:

• gyda ffrindiau — with friends
• gyda Siân — with Siân
• gyda fi — with me

Before a pronoun, use forms such as fi “me”, ti “you” and ni “us”, not the ordinary subject forms in an English-shaped construction. Gyda fi is also used in southern-influenced possession patterns, as in Mae car gyda fi “I have a car”.

 also means “with” or “by means of”. It has a circumflex, and before p, t, c it causes aspirate mutation: p → ph, t → th, c → ch.

• â phlant — with children
• â theulu — with a family
• â chyllell — with a knife

Before a vowel, â normally appears as ag, as in ag Aled “with Aled”. The unaccented word a means “and”, so the accent in â carries useful grammatical information.

Am is broader than English “about”

Am commonly introduces a topic, the object of an action such as waiting or paying, a duration, and clock time:

• siarad am y ffilm — talk about the film
• talu am y coffi — pay for the coffee
• am wythnos — for a week
• am dri o'r gloch — at three o'clock

English uses several different prepositions in these phrases. Welsh keeps am, and its mutation remains part of the pattern when the next word can mutate.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Dw i'n mynd i Gaerdydd yfory.	I am going to Cardiff tomorrow.	i causes soft mutation: Caerdydd → Gaerdydd.
Mae hi'n dod o Gymru.	She comes from Wales.	o causes soft mutation: Cymru → Gymru.
Mae'r plant yn yr ysgol.	The children are at school.	yn yr comes before a vowel-initial noun.
Mae e'n byw yng Nghymru.	He lives in Wales.	Locational yn causes nasal mutation.
Mae hi'n gweithio ym Mangor.	She works in Bangor.	yn + Bangor becomes ym Mangor.
Mae'r llyfr ar y bwrdd.	The book is on the table.	Learn ar y bwrdd as one location phrase.
Mae'r gath dan gadair.	The cat is under a chair.	dan causes cadair → gadair.
Mae'r trên yn mynd dros bont.	The train is going over a bridge.	dros causes pont → bont.
Dyn ni'n siarad am y ffilm.	We are talking about the film.	am marks the topic.
Dewch i mewn am dri o'r gloch.	Come in at three o'clock.	tri → dri after am.
Arhoson ni yno am wythnos.	We stayed there for a week.	am expresses duration.
Dw i gyda ffrindiau heno.	I am with friends tonight.	Everyday gyda for company.
Aeth hi â'r plant i'r parc.	She took the children to the park.	mynd â is the common “take” pattern.
Torrwch y bara â chyllell.	Cut the bread with a knife.	â marks the instrument; cyllell → chyllell.
Daethon nhw o'r swyddfa i'r caffi.	They came from the office to the café.	Source with o'r, destination with i'r.

Common Mistakes

Leaving a place name unchanged after i or o

• Wrong: Dw i'n mynd i Caerdydd.
• Right: Dw i'n mynd i Gaerdydd.
• Why: I triggers soft mutation, so initial c changes to g. The same principle gives o Gymru, not o Cymru.

Treating yn like an English word placed before an unchanged name

• Wrong: Mae e'n byw yn Cymru.
• Right: Mae e'n byw yng Nghymru.
• Why: Locational yn causes nasal mutation when it directly precedes Cymru: C → Ngh, while yn becomes yng.

Mutating through the article

• Wrong: ar y fwrdd when you mean “on the table” and are mutating only because of ar
• Right: ar y bwrdd
• Why: The preposition does not jump over y to mutate bwrdd. Treat ar y bwrdd as a complete phrase. Remember, however, that the article can cause its own changes with certain feminine nouns.

Translating English “at” with one Welsh word everywhere

• Wrong: ar yr ysgol for “at school”
• Right: yn yr ysgol
• Why: Preposition choice belongs to the Welsh expression. “At school” describes being in the school setting, so Welsh uses yn. Learn yn yr ysgol, yn y gwaith and gartref “at home” separately.

Forgetting the aspirate mutation after â

• Wrong: â cyllell
• Right: â chyllell
• Why: Â changes initial c, p, t to ch, ph, th. If you use everyday gyda, do not transfer this rule automatically: gyda cyllell is a different pattern.

Using a subject-shaped phrase after gyda

• Wrong: gyda i
• Right: gyda fi
• Why: After gyda, “me” is fi. Learn preposition-plus-pronoun combinations as complete forms rather than translating “with + I”.

Usage Notes

Preposition choice often depends on the Welsh verb. Useful combinations include gwrando ar “listen to”, edrych ar “look at”, aros am “wait for”, siarad am “talk about” and mynd i “go to”. The English translation may contain a different preposition, or none at all. Recording the whole combination prevents errors caused by translating one word at a time.

Spoken Welsh varies by region. Gyda is widespread and is particularly prominent in southern patterns; its shortened spoken form 'da is also common. In much northern speech, you will often hear efo for “with”. Â remains important in writing, set expressions, and the construction mynd â “take”, even if a speaker often chooses gyda/efo for ordinary company. Follow the regional model used by your course or community in your own speech, but learn to recognise the alternatives.

The forms dan and dros can refer to literal space, but they also occur in less literal meanings. Dros may mean “for/on behalf of”, and dan may describe being under a condition or authority. Beginners should first master physical phrases such as dan y bwrdd and dros y bont, then add new meanings in context.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to master this section at A1, but it explains forms you will soon meet. Many Welsh prepositions change form when their object is a pronoun. These are called conjugated prepositions: instead of simply adding “me”, “you” or “them”, Welsh may alter the preposition itself. Compare ar y bwrdd “on the table” with arna i “on me”, dros y bont “over the bridge” with drosta i “over/for me”, and o Gymru “from Wales” with forms built on ohon- before pronouns. Other prepositions behave more simply, as in i mi “to/for me” and gyda fi “with me”. Learn each family separately rather than inventing forms by analogy.

Preposition-plus-pronoun forms also create common Welsh expressions whose English translation does not look prepositional. Depending on region and context, possession may be expressed with a form of gan or with gyda: Mae gen i gar / Mae car gyda fi “I have a car”. Feelings, needs and states can likewise be organised around prepositions. This is why learning ar, gan, i and o as grammatical families becomes more important than attaching one English gloss to each word.

There are also fine differences between an indefinite location and a definite one. A directly following noun may reveal the preposition's mutation—ar fwrdd, dan bont, yng Nghymru—whereas a phrase with the article has another internal structure—ar y bwrdd, dan y bont, yn y wlad. At higher levels, mutation therefore helps you see how the phrase is built, not merely how it is pronounced.

Finally, prepositions extend into fixed phrases and verb patterns. I can introduce a purpose before a verb-noun (the dictionary action form): Dw i'n mynd i brynu bara “I am going to buy bread”, where prynu becomes brynu after i. Such combinations should be learned as constructions, because the natural English translation may rearrange or omit the preposition.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-way location sets. Choose a place and say movement towards it, location there, and movement from it: i Gaerdydd — yng Nghaerdydd — o Gaerdydd. Repeat with Bangor: i Fangor — ym Mangor — o Fangor. This makes the contrasting mutations memorable.
2. Learn article phrases aloud. Put labels on real objects or make picture cards for ar y bwrdd, dan y gadair, yn y gegin and i'r drws. Say the whole phrase rather than testing yourself only on ar = on.
3. Keep a verb-and-preposition list. Add complete chunks such as edrych ar, gwrando ar, aros am, siarad am and mynd i. Write one personal sentence for each, and mark any mutation in a different colour.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Soft Mutation — explains the initial changes caused by i, o, ar, am, dan and dros.
• Next step: Location with Bod — combines forms of “be” with phrases such as yn yr ysgol and ar y bwrdd.
• Next step: Compound Prepositions — adds expressions such as wrth ymyl, o flaen and y tu ôl i.
• Later development: Conjugated Prepositions — shows how prepositions change with pronouns in forms such as arna i and arnyn nhw.